1st batch

[ringo8553]

Just tasted my first try and I used the Brewers Best Smoked Porter. The beer seems a little over carbonated, and pours like a Guinness...a lot of settling time. Didn't taste bad, but no strong flavor to speak of. So what went wrong?...I was very careful with my sanitizing. Maybe just needs another week or two at room temp first?

 

[Cyclman]

Give it time, it'll get better.

 

[TroyMorgan]

Just tasted my first try and I used the Brewers Best Smoked Porter. The beer seems a little over carbonated, and pours like a Guinness...a lot of settling time. Didn't taste bad, but no strong flavor to speak of. So what went wrong?...I was very careful with my sanitizing. Maybe just needs another week or two at room temp first?

How long did you leave it in your primary? I had no patience on my first batch (American stout) and it came out drinkable but could have been much better. If overcarbed, you may have bottled before your fermentation was done, or you didn't mix in your priming sugar evenly (you could also have some undercarbed beer as well). If you followed the directions that came with your kit, you may have issues from that too. Don't know why they try and hurry brewers through the process. I am now leaving the brew in primary for at least 2 or 3 weeks and definitely waiting until my FG is steady for 3 before I even think about bottling. Time and patience will both lead to better beer.

 

[unionrdr]

You may not have chilled it long enough not to get a glass of foam. It takes at least a week to let the beer get co2 into solution well. If not,the gass will act as a nucleation point & you get a lot of foam.

 

[boxster20]

Congrats on your first beer!

Do you know how much priming sugar came with the kit? I'm not sure, but Brewer's Best kits may always come with 5 oz. of priming sugar. If so, for this style, 5 oz. is too much. You can use the tastybrew.com calculator to see how much sugar should be used in the future. For a porter, 3.5 oz. of corn sugar should work.

http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

 

[odawg82]

I'm going to Jack this thread for a second since you all are talking about priming sugar and 1st batch. I just bottled my first batch as well and I dump the priming sugar into the bucket and mixed up fairly well. I noticed after I finished everything that the instructions said to boil 16 ounces of water with the priming sugar. Sense I didn't mix the sugar with water and bring to a boil is this going to affect the way it carbonates my beer?

 

[stvo]

Your beer will carb unevenly but it will carb also you may be in for a bit more... we boil the water/sugar to sterilize it

 

[odawg82]

Your beer will carb unevenly but it will carb also you may be in for a bit more... we boil the water/sugar to sterilize it

Damn, oh well I guess you live and learn on our first batch. Then correct the mistakes going forward.

 

[unionrdr]

Not so much to sanitize it,as the sugar is dry. You need moisture & air with that to let nasties grow. It's just easier ti mix a solution of water & sugar with the beer.